Word: difficult
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Dates: during 1870-1879
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...writer sits down for the purpose of producing a witty article, one that shall make the public laugh in spite of itself; an onerous task for two reasons, - the public is decidedly opposed to laughing without being tickled, and it is exceedingly difficult to find a sensitive spot whereon to apply the straw. By public we mean the average mass of thinking men and women, excluding wholly that class of constitutional gigglers who laugh alike at David's solemnity and Twain's humor...
...since it is so difficult to be witty, are we to give up the attempt, and devote ourselves to a style of composition as devoid of humor as a statute-book? Certainly not. If we have not the wit to elicit an appreciative smile from our readers, we at least have the ability to throw into our expressions a certain degree of spiciness and originality; otherwise we had better cast our quill aside, and turn our thoughts to other pursuits...
...would be extremely difficult to compare this collection with others in Europe or America, for some are more complete in the works of one particular master, a great many more numerous, and one, even in this country, more costly; but we believe it is not overstepping the limits of our authority to say that, as an aid to the history and study of the graphic art of all periods and schools, it has few superiors anywhere, and none in this country. Indeed, it can hardly be otherwise, made as it was by a man of such cultivation, judgment, and taste...